Inside Willow Springs Raceway

It doesn’t have the golf-course greens of Virginia International Raceway or the roller-coaster drop-off of Laguna Seca, but the 2 ½-mile road course at Willow Springs International Raceway (WSIR) in Rosamond, California, has seen its share of well-known riders and drivers. WSIR includes seven racetracks, ranging from skidpad to kart track. The most famous set of turns is the main road course known as “Big Willow,” and people have been racing for its finish line since 1953. The track’s uninterrupted racing seasons and unchanged course map make it one of the oldest continually operating road courses in America.

Built against the foothills of the California desert, Big Willow’s challenges include substantial elevation changes and a very tricky, decreasing-radius final turn. The long straightaways and fast corners allow for high average speeds, earning it the moniker “The Fastest Road in the West.” Race-pace cornering speeds on this track range from 70 mph to more than 170 mph, with speeds on the straights nearing 200 mph for fast cars and sportbikes.

Besides the interesting terrain, Willow offers a better viewing experience than most road courses, since the elevated back half of the track is visible from the front stretch. While not a country-club track by any means, Willow does offer enclosed garages, racing fuel and tire services, RV parking, and a full bar on site. The track is kept busy with track days, races, television and movie production, and prototype testing. Willow’s general manager, Chris Huth, estimates that there are several hundred different events each year, “and that’s not including motorcycle and karting,” he says. We spoke with Chris and track instructor Danny McKeever to find out more about Big Willow’s history and its nine fast corners.

Factoids

Willow Springs was originally designed to be a copy of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, but space constraints resulted in the more complicated road-course configuration. Construction began in 1952, and the first race was November 23, 1953.

Chris Huth’s dad purchased WSIR in 1962, and the family has been taking turns managing and operating the track ever since.

In 1966, a USC student filmed a school project at Willow. Titled 1:42:08, it told the story of a race driver trying to qualify in a Lotus. The driver was the automotive artist, and designer of the Cobra Daytona, Pete Brock. The director? George Lucas.

The first NASCAR road-course race in California took place at WSIR.

Willow might be most famous for bike racing. The first FIM 500 Grand Prix motorcycle race in America was on Willow’s track, as well as many of the early AMA events.

The track record is 01:06.05, set by Michael Andretti in a CART IndyCar in 1987. His average speed during that lap? 136 mph.

Think you can beat Andretti? Try it from your couch: Both Big Willow and the Streets of Willow are options in Sony PlayStation’s Gran Turismo 6 and Rockstar Games’ Midnight Club L.A.

Willow’s close proximity to Hollywood has made it a favorite for commercials, television shows, and movies. Action scenes in everything from The Love Bug to BBC’s Top Gear (remember the fighter plane challenge in season 19?) have been filmed at the track.

Chris says the craziest vehicle he’s seen on the course was a jet-engine-powered Dodge van that was used in an episode of Science Garage. “That might have been the most bizarre hybrid ever. It literally exploded on the course.”